A Five Things Prompt for You

If you’ve ever thought about joining me for a round of Five Things, here’s a sample of the kind of email you receive daily in the course. The November round of Five Things started on the first, but you can sign up at any time and I’ll get you started with Day 1 and you’ll receive all 30 days of prompts over the next 30 days. The following is an excerpt from the Day 1 email. The intention is to give you a sneak peek of what to expect if you come along.

Dear Beautiful Soul,

Before you begin, pause and take a deep breath. Let yourself be here in this moment as you read today’s note. 

A Few Words About Listing

I share a version of this at the beginning of every round of Five Things because I think it is so important to remind you why we're here: to find space for ourselves in the middle of whatever the day brings.

I believe that the act of pausing and writing a list can help you slow down your thoughts (especially if they tend to whir inside you) and focus your attention to just one thing - writing a list. 

And here's what I want you to remember: you decide what a list looks like.

Yes, in this course we list five things every day. AND. You decide what you do with your list. Some days you might write five words or five sentences or even five paragraphs. Other days you might jot down stories or memories or thoughts you don't want to forget. You might use five photos on another day. Other days you might just read the prompt and list things in your head. There are no rules that must be followed. The prompts will guide you, but you can turn these prompts into whatever you need them to be. And if you ever get stuck, just connect with me. I'm over here.

This Month's Theme

With some rounds of Five Things, I begin with an intention or a guiding quote or poem. Sometimes this intention reveals itself as I gather the prompts and inspiration. This month, even though it felt so on the nose with November including the Thanksgiving holiday here in the United States, gratitude kept insisting it wanted to join us again this month, just as we did this time last year. Our prompts will be different from previous rounds (of course there will be a few favorites we return to) and you'll see ways in which other themes like self-compassion and presence show up too.

I really hope this month feels like a space of kindness, hope, and softness for you.

Let's begin.

Whether this is the first time you've joined me for a course or you participate in just about every new round of Five Things, I love that right now we get to make the choice to be open to whatever is to come as we spend this month together. We are starting something new - side by side. And there is so much possibility waiting for us.

Let this month and listing practice be what it needs to be for you. I'll be beside you the whole time with ideas and inspiration. Let's list! 

Today's prompt: Five things you want to welcome into this month.

Today's prompt is a warm-up of sorts, but before we get to it, I want to tell you a quick story.

My kid Avery and I have been having a lot of conversations about how certain places and spaces make us feel and why we are drawn to them. Recently, we were visiting our friend Kelly and before we left town, we stopped at a coffee shop. The barista was very friendly and patient with us as we were figuring out the menu. As we walked toward the other end of the counter to wait for our food and drinks, Avery said, "I want to be friends with her." Then as we stood there, we watched several people help each other with things and others chatting away with friends. As we were walking out with hands full, someone who was actually already in line stepped out of line so she could open the door for us. 

When we got into the car with our goodies, Avery said something about wanting to come back when we visit Kelly in a few weeks. I agreed. And then we talked about what it was that made us like the place so much. She said, "Everyone was so welcoming."

We were inside that coffee shop for less than 10 minutes but felt at home - and we were simply stopping by to take coffee, hot cocoa, and croissants to go.

As you think about this next month, my hope for you is that you feel welcome - here in this space but also in your corner of the world. I hope you'll feel at home. So let's reflect for a bit on what you yourself can welcome into your world to help you feel at home.

Think about what you want to experience this month, what feelings you hope to have, what small shifts you might want to try, what habits you might want to return to or continue, and so on. What would you, if you could, welcome through your front door this month? Put pen to paper and make a list of whatever comes up for you.

Here's mine that I'll add to my journal

Our Daily Five

Every day in Five Things I share a list like this one of inspiration, poetry, a quote, and so on.

1. A song: Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
2. A poem: Love After Love by Derek Walcott (because you can't read this one too often)
3. Another poem: The Kibran poem today's quote is from
4. Just in case you need it: Patrick Stewart's Soliloquy on B
5. Download today's quote here and then print it out and add it to your journal

Whether you decide to join Five Things or simply explore this prompt and set some intentions for this month or even for the week, I'm so glad we're side by side taking time to pause and notice and live from a place of attention. If you want to sign up for Five Things, head over here.

five things

One my go-to self-care moves is to make a list. The act of just noticing where I am, what I’m feeling, what I can see, and so on grounds me in the moment and helps me feel right-side up again. This tends not to be a to-do list but is instead a list of thoughts, memories, hopes. I make these lists so I can get out of the swirling thoughts in my head and feel like I’m back in my body and heart.

A few times a year, I invite you to join me for a round of Five Things, which is my month-long ecourse where I invite you to list five things each day inspired by a prompt I share. Each email also comes with inspiration, a poem, a song, and a few other good things. My biggest hope is that the emails feel like a safe place to just show up and be present for a few moments each day.

You can learn more and sign up for this next round of Five Things right here.

you are held in love

Along with all the words of the year I stamp this time of year, I’m also lucky to get to sit with words my customers share with me and choose mantras and intentions for them.

This one above going to a dear soul who shared her word of the year and then asked me to choose a mantra and gemstone to send her way that would be companions to her word.

I. Love. My. Job.

If you’d like me to choose a word or phrase or gemstone necklace for you, check out the “Let Liz Choose” section in my Soul Mantras shop.

on listing

Listing gives me a rhythm of pausing and noticing and slowing down my thoughts. It eases my anxiety. And it gives me a reason to write with this brush pen I love.

Yes, it’s just a simple act of putting a few words to a page.

And.

It’s proof of life.

Proof I can return to again and again.

Join me for a new round of Five Things. We start February 1st!

wisdom from mister rogers

Over here I’m thinking about the little girl who watched episodes of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood every day after preschool as she sat in the green Lazy-boy and imagined she could go to The Neighborhood of Make Believe. My mom says I would sigh as the credits rolled and then find her in the house to talk about our days. I still sigh that deep exhale when I read his words. Also I love how the internet gives us access to photos so we have the chance see our heroes in their more candid moments.

(Photo is from my Water Your Soul journal, which is a class you can join at any time.)

Soul Mantras is open again!

My Soul Mantras shop is open for holiday and word of the year orders. You can order custom talismans, a chosen just for you gemstone necklace, and a few other goodies this year. I’m still focusing on my 2023 word - grace - but I have to admit that my 2024 word has been showing up even though I keep resisting it. I love this practice.

this is me

this is me sitting in the goodness of a conversation with friends and kindred spirits. this is me remembering what it is like to show up to this space that’s all my own and tell a few stories and share some musings and let the words show up through the hands typing on this keyboard. this is me longing for the curiosity and delight that showed up so often during my early days of blogging. this is me moving from the role of mother to teacher to business owner to exhausted human and on and on. this is me revisiting some of the old stories and reminding myself that we get to keep unpacking the lessons. this is me going back to the basics of how a routine alongside listening to my needs alongside knowing i can give so much of myself alongside a desire to be in the world might be a recipe i can work with. this is me wondering how you’re doing over there in your corner.

on doing the work of becoming

Here’s to showing up and doing the work of untangling from past stuff, staying curious and open-hearted, and learning to listen to what you need. Oof. That was a big sentence. We are doing it though. With every deep breath, every moment you dance it out, every pause to look at the window and remember the world that is bigger than us, every glass of water we drink, every hand we reach out to another. We are doing it.

Side by side.